Glass Alignment for High Temperature Processes

ABSTRACT

Apparatus, systems and methods for alignment of a glass member for high temperature processing are disclosed. The high temperature processing can, for example, pertain to a slumping process to mold glass into a predetermined shape (e.g., a three-dimensional shape). In one embodiment, a glass slumping system can have a mold and an alignment system that support a glass member to be slumped relative to the mold. The alignment system may have a plurality of alignment members being configured to move away from the glass member as the temperature increases during the slumping process to allow the glass member to bend around the mold without interference.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/401,573, filed on Mar. 10, 2009 and entitled “GLASSALIGNMENT FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE PROCESSES”, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to glass shaping processes and,more particularly, to aligning glass in high temperature processes suchas glass slumping processes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various processes have been proposed for slumping glass or shaping glassto impart a bend or curvature thereto. One process is a “dropout”process. Vacuum forming processes have also been used to shape glasssoftened by heating. However, numerous disadvantages and drawbacks areassociated with the dropout and vacuum forming processes for slumpingglass. These processes utilize fixed alignment systems to secure theedges of the glass to the molds. However, these fixed alignment systemscan inhibit the glass from dropping or sagging into the cavities of themolds. This results in formation of protruding, perimetrical flanges inthe glass after shaping, such flanges circumscribing or surroundingportions of the glass that have been allowed to drop or sag into thecavities. Depending on the intended use for the shaped glass, suchflanges may be undesirable and require removal. Removal of the flangesadds additional cost, labor and time to the glass shaping processes.

Another drawback is that the glass tends to be undesirably stretchedwhen they drop or sag into the molds. Additionally, although dropoutprocesses are effective for relatively thick (e.g. ½ to 1 inch thick)glass, such processes are generally unsuitable for relatively thin (e.g.¼ inch thick or less) glass. Most dropout processes involve heating theglass relatively rapidly, which is detrimental to relatively thin glassand/or “art” glass. Some dropout processes also involve multiple heatingcycles (firings), movement of the glass during heating, repositioning ofthe glass in or on the molds and/or transfers of the glass betweendifferent molds, thusly adding undesirably to the complexity, cost, timeand labor for the glass shaping processes.

Furthermore, these processes typically involve contacting the glass withchemicals, gases or extraneous mechanical components, which isundesirable. Additionally, when vacuum forming, the glass may crack orotherwise be impaired due to inconsistencies or lack of control in theapplied vacuum. Moreover, the appearance of the glass may be undesirablyaltered due to application of the vacuum, which is a significantdrawback when aesthetics are important. Furthermore, in each of theseprocesses, after the glass is slumped, the glass must still be grindedto form the finished edges.

SUMMARY

The invention pertains to apparatus, systems and methods for alignmentof a glass member for high temperature processing. The high temperatureprocessing can, for example, pertain to a slumping process to mold glassinto a predetermined shape (e.g., a three-dimensional shape).

The apparatus, systems and methods for alignment of a glass member forhigh temperature processing are suitable for glass covers assembled insmall form factor electronic devices, such as handheld electronicdevices (e.g., mobile phones, media players, user input devices (e.g.,mouse, touch sensitive devices), personal digital assistants, remotecontrols, etc.). The apparatus, systems and methods can also be used forglass covers or displays for other relatively larger form factorelectronic devices (e.g., portable computers, tablet computers,displays, monitors, televisions, etc.).

The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as amethod, system, device, or apparatus (including computer readablemedium). Several embodiments of the invention are discussed below.

In one embodiment, a glass slumping system described herein can have amold and an alignment system that support a glass member to be slumpedrelative to the mold. The alignment system can have a plurality ofalignment members being configured to move away from the glass member asthe temperature increases during the slumping process to allow the glassmember to bend around the mold without interference.

In another embodiment, an apparatus to slump a glass member in aslumping process can have a mold having a top surface, and a pluralityof alignment members arranged to align the glass member with respect tothe top surface of the mold. Each of the plurality of alignment memberscan be configured to move away from the glass member as the temperatureincreases during the slumping process to allow the glass member to bendaround the mold without interference.

In one embodiment, a glass slumping method may include removablysecuring a bottom end of a plurality of alignment members to a mold;supporting and aligning a glass member on the mold wherein each of theplurality of alignment members contact the glass member to retain theglass member in position; heating the glass member, moving each of theplurality of alignment members away from the glass member as the glassmember is heated to allow the glass member to bend around the moldwithout interference, thereby releasing the heated glass member from thealignment members; and cooling the glass member after being bent aroundthe mold.

The present invention provides other embodiments configured to implementthe aspects of the invention, as well as software (or computer programcode) stored in a machine-readable medium (e.g., a tangible storagemedium) to control devices to perform these methods.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, theprinciples of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate one or more example embodimentsand, together with the description of example embodiments, serve toexplain the principles and implementations.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a perspective view of one embodiment of analignment system.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an embodiment of an alignment member.

FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate an embodiment of an alignment system secured tothe mold with a ball.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate side views of other embodiments of analignment member.

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of another embodiment of an alignmentsystem.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a side view of still another embodiment of analignment system.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of an embodiment of a glass slumpingprocess.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to apparatus, systems and methods for alignmentof a glass member for high temperature processing. The high temperatureprocessing can, for example, pertain to a slumping process to mold glassinto a predetermined shape (e.g., a three-dimensional shape).

The apparatus, systems and methods for alignment of a glass member forhigh temperature processing are suitable for glass covers assembled insmall form factor electronic devices, such as handheld electronicdevices (e.g., mobile phones, media players, user input devices (e.g.,mouse, touch sensitive devices), personal digital assistants, remotecontrols, etc.). The apparatus, systems and methods can also be used forglass covers or displays for other relatively larger form factorelectronic devices (e.g., portable computers, tablet computers,displays, monitors, televisions, etc.).

Embodiments are described herein in the context of aligning glass forhigh temperature processes. The following detailed description isillustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Otherembodiments will readily suggest themselves to such skilled personshaving the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now be made indetail to implementations as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.The same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings andthe following detailed description to refer to the same or like parts.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of theimplementations described herein are shown and described. It will, ofcourse, be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madein order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliancewith application and business related constraints, and that thesespecific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from onedeveloper to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such adevelopment effort might be complex and time-consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those ofordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

An alignment system, as described herein, can be used to position glasson complex three-dimensional molds in high temperature processes, suchas slumping. Without proper alignment or if there is a shift inalignment, each glass formed on the mold will have a different shape.Current systems to align glass utilize fixed alignment systems, whichhas the disadvantages as discussed above. Additionally, with currentsystems, the glass is typically grinded after the slumping process iscompleted to thereby shape the glass with finished edges. A movablealignment system is described herein aligns finished glass so that theglass does not need to be machined (e.g., grinded) after the hightemperature process. Additionally, the alignment system may referencethe glass member to the proper location on the mold. For example, thealignment system may align the center of the glass with the center ofthe mold. This allows for the consistent shape and formation of theglass members, which provides for consistent repeatability in theformation of each glass.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a perspective view of one embodiment of analignment system. FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of theassignment system coupled to a mold 102 and FIG. 1B illustrates aperspective view of a glass member 112 aligned on the mold 102 with thealignment system. The mold 102 has a top surface 104. As illustrated,the top surface 104 has a convex three-dimensional (3D) contour surface.However, this is not intended to be limiting as the top surface may beany 3D formation, such as a concave 3D contour formation. The mold 102may be formed of any high temperature resistant material, such asceramic.

The mold 102 may have a plurality of slots 108 adjacent the top surface104 to support an alignment system. The alignment system may have aplurality of alignment members 106 a-n (where n is an integer).

As illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the slots 108 are located at eachcorner 110 of the mold 102. However, the location of the slots 108 arenot intended to be limiting as the slots 108 may be positioned at anylocation on the mold 102 as is necessary to align the glass member 112on the mold 102. Additionally, although illustrated with four alignmentmembers 106 a-d, this number is not intended to be limiting as anynumber of alignment members may be used as necessary to align the glassmember 112 on the mold 102.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an embodiment of an alignment member 202.FIG. 2A illustrates a front view of the alignment member 202 and FIG. 2Billustrates a side view of the alignment member 202. Referring to FIG.2A, the alignment member 202 may have a first open-mouth opening or slit208 at a top end 204 and a second open-mouth opening or slit 210 at abottom end 206. The first opening 208 may be configured to receive acontact member as discussed in detail below with reference to FIG. 3A.The second opening 210 may be configured to receive a retention memberas discussed in detail below with reference to FIG. 3A.

The second opening 210 may have an upper end 212 and a lower end 214.The upper end 212 may have a width, W1, that is greater than a width,W2, of the lower end 214. In one embodiment, W1 is between about 0.5% toabout 3% greater than W2. In a specific embodiment, W1 is about 2%greater than W2. As discussed in more detail below, as the temperatureincreases during the slumping process, the lower end 214 expands in thedirection of arrows A, which causes W2 to increase. The retention member(FIG. 3A) may then drop from the upper end 212 to the lower end 214, yetstill releasably secure the alignment member 202 to the mold 102.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the alignment member 202 may be bi-metallic (e.g.formed from two different metals) and have a thickness, T1, of betweenabout 0.25 mm to about 5 mm. In one embodiment, a first metal 216 may bea nickel alloy, such as Hastelloy-X, that has a coefficient of thermalexpansion (CTE) of about 16 ppm/K. The second metal 218 may be an alloysteel or steel, such as 316 stainless steel, that has a CTE of about 17ppm/K. The type of metal is not intended to be limiting as any type ofmetal may be used, such as titanium. The two metals may be joinedtogether using any known process such as cladding, spot welding, or anyother similar processes.

At high temperatures, the alloy steel expands at a slightly faster ratethan the nickel alloy. Thus, this causes the alignment member 202 tobend in the direction toward the alloy steel, or the metal with thehigher CTE.

In one embodiment, the CTE for each metal is substantially similar, forexample, a CTE difference of about 1 to 5 ppm/K, which results in aslight bend of the alignment member during heating. In one example, athigher temperatures, the alignment member 202 bends to form betweenabout a 0.25 mm to about a 1 mm displacement arc. The displacement arcformed during heating may be dictated by the difference in CTE betweenthe metals. For example, as the difference between CTE of the metalsincreases, the displacement arc will also increase.

Although FIG. 2B illustrates the alignment member 202 as substantiallystraight and planar, it will now be known that the alignment member 202may be of any form. For example, the alignment member 202 may have aslight bend at the top end 204 or the bottom end 206 in order to contactthe glass member 112 on the mold 102. Additionally, the alignment member202 may take any shape or form necessary to align the glass member tothe mold. Moreover, although the alignment member 202 is illustrated asbeing bi-metallic, this is not intended to be limiting as alignmentmember may be formed from a single metal, such as steel, as describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate an embodiment of an alignment system 300 securedto the mold 102 with a ball 304. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of thealignment system 300 and FIGS. 3B and 3C are side views of the alignmentsystem 300. This embodiment provides for an alignment system using analignment member that allows for the continuous movement of thealignment member in a direction away from the glass member.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the first opening 208 may be configured to receivea contact member 302. If the glass member 112 is in direct contact withthe alignment member 202, a high concentration of heat can result at thecontact point between the glass member 112 and the metal alignmentmember 202. Thus, the contact member 302 can be used as a buffer betweenthe alignment member 202 and the glass member 112. The contact member302 may be configured to apply a slight interference to the glass member112 to align and secure the glass member to the mold 102. The contactmember 302 may be formed from any high temperature material, such asceramic. In one embodiment, the contact member 302 is formed from amaterial similar to the glass member 112.

As illustrated, the contact member 302 can be shaped similar to abarbell. However, this is not intended to be limiting as the contactmember 302 may be form or shape desired such that it is able to becoupled to the alignment member 202.

Referring to FIG. 3B, the contact member 302 may be formed of a firstsurface 306 and a second surface 308. The first surface 306 has asubstantially planar surface to contact the glass member. Asillustrated, the first surface 306 has a diameter, d1, that is less thanthe diameter, d2, of the second surface 308. However, this is notintended to be limiting as d2 may be equal to or greater than d1.

Referring back to FIG. 3A, the second opening 210 may be configured toreceive a retention member, such as a ball 304. The ball 304 may, forexample, be a ceramic ball. Prior to the start of the slumping process,the ball 304 is received in the upper end 212 of the second opening 210,as also illustrated in FIG. 3B. As the temperature increases during theslumping process, the lower end 214 expands in the direction of arrows Aand width, W2 (FIG. 2A), increases. As width, W2, increases, the ball304 also moves and is lowered in the direction of arrow B to be receivedby the lower end 214 as illustrated in FIG. 3C. The ball 304 may bemoved via gravity or by being physically forced downward.

The ball 304 securely and removably attaches the alignment system 300 tothe mold 102. Furthermore, once the temperatures returns to roomtemperature, the ball 304 remains in position at the lower end 214 tocontinue to secure the alignment system 300 to the mold 102. Thealignment member 202 and the ball 304 can be removed from the slot 108.

In one embodiment, the slot 108 used to secure the alignment system 300to the mold 102 has a cavity. The cavity may have a first side 310, asecond side 312 opposite the first side 310, and a bottom 314 betweenthe first side 310 and the second side 312 thereby forming the cavity.The second side 312 can be formed at an angle such that the slot 108 hasa slight taper towards the bottom 314. As the ball 304 drops into thecavity, the tapered cavity provides for a tighter fit between the ball304 and mold 102, which provides a secure yet releasable fit of thealignment system 300 to the mold 102.

As the temperature increases during the slumping process, the alignmentmember 202 can, in one embodiment, continuously bends or moves in thedirection of arrow C. The alignment system 300 continuously moves awayfrom the glass member 112 as the glass member 112 simultaneously expandsand/or bends. Continuous movement of the alignment system 300 in adirection away from the mold ensures that the alignment member 202 movesaway from the glass member 112 as the glass member 112 expands. Thecontact member 302 then releases the glass member 112 to allow the glassmember 112 to bend (e.g., slump) around the mold 102 withoutinterference. In other words, the glass member 112 is released from thecontact member 302 as the alignment member 302 bends in the direction ofarrow C.

Clearance from the alignment system 300 during the glass slumpingprocess prevents the glass member 112 from hanging up on the alignmentsystem 300, The alignment system 300 can also prevent defects fromforming on the finished edges of the glass member 112 as the glassmember 112 becomes more malleable. Still further, the alignment system300 does not cause any undesired chemical reaction at the contact pointsbetween the glass member and the contact member.

The ball can securely retain the alignment members 300 to the mold 102without the use of screws or any other similar permanent means ofattachment to attach the alignment member to the mold. This prevents themold from cracking, misaligning a glass member, and/or causing thepermanent attachment to become loose since the screws and other rigidmeans of attachment expand while in a mold as the temperature increasesduring the slumping process.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate side views of other embodiments of analignment member. Referring to FIG. 4A, in one embodiment, an alignmentmember 402 may be releasably secured to the mold 102 in the slot 108with the use of a low temperature melting material 404, such as a wax.The low temperature material 404 may fill the cavity of the slot 108 topress the alignment member 402 against the mold 102. In one embodiment,the alignment member 402 may be secured directly to the mold 102, at thebottom end, with the use of a low temperature adhesive 420 thatevaporates or burns away as the temperature increases during theslumping process. As the temperature increases during the slumpingprocess, the low temperature material (i.e., the low temperature meltingmaterial 404 and/or the low temperature adhesive 420) will melt or burnaway causing the alignment member 402 to move discretely in thedirection of arrow C or in a direction away from the mold 102. In thisembodiment, the alignment member 402 may be made from a single metal ora plurality of metals (e.g., bi-metallic). Additionally, the alignmentmember 402 does not need to have a second opening (FIG. 2A).

In another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, an alignment member406 may be formed having a slight bend 408 to ensure that the alignmentmember 406 moves away from the glass member. In another embodiment, theslot 108 may have a cavity having a first side 410, a second side 412opposite the first side 410, and a bottom 410. The first side 410 may beformed at an angle such that the width of the slot 108 at the bottom 410is greater than a width at the top of the slot 108. In both embodiments,the slight bend 408 in the alignment member 406 ensures that as the lowtemperature melting material 404 and/or the low temperature adhesive 420melts away during the slumping process, the alignment member 406 movesaway from the glass member in the direction of arrow C.

The use of a low temperature melting material may result incontamination of the oven or unit where the glass slumping processoccurs. Thus, it may be necessary to decontaminate the oven or glassslumping process unit for subsequent processes. Additionally,replacement of the low temperature material may be required forsubsequent processes.

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of yet another embodiment of thealignment system. An alignment member 502 may be secured to the mold 102using a magnet 504, such as a neodymium magnet. The magnet 504 may belocated proximate to a base 506 of the mold 102 to attract and securethe alignment member 502 to the mold 102 in the slot 108. As thetemperature increases during the slumping process, the magnet 504 maylose its ferromagnetic properties (the temperature at which this occursvaries based upon the Curie point of the specific magnet) and discretelyreleases the alignment member 502 from the mold. The alignment member502 then moves in a direction away from the mold 102 in the direction ofarrow C. A contact member 508 no longer contacts the glass member 112which allows the glass member 112 to bend around the mold 102 withoutinterference.

Due to the high temperature necessary for the glass slumping process,the magnets may permanently loose its ferromagnetic properties. Thus,the magnets may need to be replaced or re-magnetized.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a side view of still another embodiment of analignment system 600. Referring to 6A, the alignment system 600 may havean attachment member 602 extending outwardly from a contact member 604.Although illustrated coupled to the contact member 604, in anotherembodiment, the attachment member 602 may be attached directly to thealignment member 606 without the use of the contact member 602.

As illustrated in FIG. 6B, a glass member 610 may be in contact with theattachment member 602 and the contact member 602. In another embodiment,the glass member 610 may just be in contact with the attachment member602. As illustrated, the attachment member 602 may have a hook shape.This ensures that little to no contamination to the glass member occurs.However, the shape of the attachment member 602 is not intended to belimiting as the attachment member 602 may be formed in any desired shapeor formation.

In one embodiment, as the temperature increases during the slumpingprocess, the attachment member 602 may melt, evaporate, or burn away,which allows the glass member to bend around the mold 102 withoutinterference. The attachment member 602 may be made from any lowtemperature material discussed above, such as a wax. The attachmentmember 602 may also be formed of a low temperature aluminum or tin

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of an embodiment of a glass slumpingprocess. The glass slumping process may occur in an oven or on aconveyer belt to process a glass member. A plurality of alignmentmembers can be removably secured to a mold at 700. Each of the alignmentmembers may be secured, at a bottom end, in a corresponding slot on themold with a retention member. The retention member may be a lowtemperature material, magnet, or a ball to secure the alignment memberto the mold.

The glass member can be supported on the mold at 702. The alignmentmembers may also align the glass member on the mold at 704. For example,the alignment member may align the center of the glass member with thecenter of the mold. A contact member on each of the plurality ofalignment members contacts the glass member to provide a slightinterference with the glass member to retain the glass member on themold.

Once aligned, the glass member can be heated at 706. The temperature ofthe glass slumping process may vary based upon the type of glass,however, the glass member may be heated to a temperature of betweenabout 500° C. to about 800° C. The glass member may then be heated forbetween about 5 minutes to 50 minutes. In a specific embodiment, theglass member is heated for about 10 minutes.

Simultaneously, as the temperature increases and the glass member isheated, each of the plurality of alignment members move away from theglass member at 708. The movement of the glass member as a result ofheating can be automatic (i.e., without user action). As discussedabove, the alignment members may move away from the glass memberdiscretely or continuously. In one embodiment, the alignment member maybe bi-metallic such that one metal expands at a faster rate than asecond metal. This causes the alignment member to continuously bend andmove away from the glass member as it is heated. In another embodiment,the alignment member may be secured to the mold with a low temperaturematerial, such as a wax or adhesive, that melts, burns, or evaporates athigh temperatures. The alignment member may then discretely move awayfrom the glass member as the low temperature material is evaporated ormelted. In still another embodiment, the alignment member may be securedto the mold with a magnet. At higher temperatures, the magnet can loseits ferromagnetic properties and releases the alignment member from themold. The alignment member may then discretely move away from the glassmember. Accordingly, the movable alignment system allows the glassmember to bend around the mold without any interference from thealignment system. The heated glass member is thus released from thealignment members at 710. After the glass member has been fully bent orshaped (e.g., fully slumped) around the mold, the glass member is thencooled at 712.

The techniques describe herein may be applied to a variety of electronicdevices including but not limited handheld electronic devices, portableelectronic devices and substantially stationary electronic devices.Examples of these include any known consumer electronic device thatincludes a display. By way of example, and not by way of limitation, theelectronic device may correspond to media players, mobile phones (e.g.,cellular phones), user input device (e.g., mouse, touch-sensitivedevices), PDAs, remote controls, notebooks, tablet PCs, monitors, all inone computers and the like.

Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, it should be understood that the present invention may beembodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spiritor the scope of the present invention. By way of example, the stepsassociated with the methods of the present invention may vary widely.Steps may be added, removed, altered, combined, and reordered withoutdeparting from the spirit of the scope of the present invention.

The various aspects, features, embodiments or implementations of theinvention described above can be used alone or in various combinations.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of the disclosure or of what maybe claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific toparticular embodiment of the disclosure. Certain features that aredescribed in the context of separate embodiments can also be implementedin combination. Conversely, various features that are described in thecontext of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations, one or more features from a claimed combination can insome cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combinationmay be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

In one embodiment, the components, process steps, and/or data structuresmay be implemented using various types of operating systems, computingplatforms, computer programs, and/or general purpose machines. Inaddition, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that devicesof a less general purpose nature, such as hardwired devices, fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), or the like, may also be used without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the inventive concepts disclosed herein.

While embodiments and applications have been shown and described, itwould be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of thisdisclosure that many more modifications than mentioned above arepossible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. Forexample, high temperature wires, such as nickel wires, may be coupled tothe alignment system. During the slumping process, the wires may bephysically pulled or contracted to move the alignment members away fromthe glass member as the glass member becomes malleable. Other means tomove the alignment members away from the glass member are contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A glass slumping method, comprising: removablysecuring a bottom end of a plurality of alignment members to a mold;supporting and aligning a glass member on the mold wherein each of theplurality of alignment members contact the glass member to retain theglass member in position; subsequently heating the glass member; movingat least one of the plurality of alignment members away from the glassmember as the glass member is heated to allow the glass member to bendaround the mold without interference from the alignment members, therebyreleasing the heated glass member from the at least one of the alignmentmembers; and cooling the glass member after being bent around the mold.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the moving at least one of theplurality of alignment members comprises: moving each of the pluralityof alignment members away from the glass member as the glass member isheated.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the removably securing furthercomprises: providing a retention member to removable secure the bottomend of each of the plurality of alignment members to the mold, whereinat least one of the retention members are configured to release awayfrom the glass member as the glass member is heated.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the retention member is a magnet or a low temperaturemelting material.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of theplurality of alignment members further comprise an opening at the bottomend, the opening having an upper end configured to receive a ball andthe upper end having a width that is greater than a width of a lower endof the opening.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the method comprises:expanding the width of the lower end as the glass member is heated; andmoving the ball toward the lower end as the width of the lower endexpands to cause the alignment member to move away from the glassmember.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said method further comprises:joining at least two metals to form at least one of the plurality ofalignment members, wherein as the glass member is heated, due todifferent rates of thermal expansion, the at least one of the pluralityof alignment members bends away from the glass member.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the removably securing further comprises: providing aretention member to removable secure the bottom end of each of theplurality of alignment members to the mold, wherein each of theretention members are configured to release away from the glass memberas the glass member is heated.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein each ofthe plurality of alignment members further comprise an opening at thebottom end, the opening having an upper end configured to receive a balland the upper end having a width that is greater than a width of a lowerend of the opening.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein a top end of eachof the alignment members comprising a contact member configured to applya slight interference on the glass member to align and secure the glassmember to the mold.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein said methodfurther comprises: joining at least two metals to form at least one ofthe plurality of alignment members, wherein as the glass member isheated, due to different rates of thermal expansion, the at least one ofthe plurality of alignment members bends away from the glass member. 12.The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one of the plurality ofalignment members are formed from a nickel alloy and steel.
 13. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said method further comprises: joining atleast two metals to form each of the plurality of alignment members,wherein as the glass member is heated, due to different rates of thermalexpansion, each of the plurality of alignment members bends away fromthe glass member to release the glass member.
 14. The method of claim13, wherein each of the plurality of alignment members are formed from anickel alloy and steel.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein thesupporting and aligning comprises contacting the center of the glassmember with the mold.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein a top end ofthe at least one of the alignment members comprising a contact memberconfigured to apply a slight interference on the glass member to alignor secure the glass member to the mold.
 17. The system of claim 16,wherein the contact member and the glass member are formed fromsubstantially similar materials.